The Joy of Connecting ~ Introduction to Loving Ourselves

Recently I have been asked to consult on several projects.  When I sit down with people the thing that goes through my head is, “what do they think that I have to offer?” And “are they doing this project from a place of joy?”

I am always interested in working with people on any project that they think I would be able to offer a gift in.  However, the person I am working with needs to be in it for the same reason.  If I am connecting my light with this other person, it has to be for something other than money.

One of the greatest gifts I ever gave myself was the gift of love.  It began the day that I stopped equating having love with being in love.  I realized that the validation that I equated with someone loving me was something I needed to give to myself.

We cannot love while we each live in our own world, at every moment concerned with ourselves.  When we seek inner security through outward relationship, we are using relationship as a means of escape from loneliness.  We depend on another for comfort, companionship, or pleasure.  We use one another.  This state is not love.

                                                                                    John Mc Afee

                                                                                    The Fabric of Self

I am loving myself and that is where the joy begins.

Express your love for yourself to yourself today. 

Joyfully yours,

Robyn

The Joy of My Body – Loving Ourselves in the Mirror

Today’s meditation:      I honor my body & treat myself respectfully

We take our bodies for granted.  We don’t get enough sleep.  We get too much or not enough of the right things to eat.  We fill it with poisons in the name of fun.  We push it, pull it, pierce it, ink it, burn it, bind it and generally follow our whim without regard for how our body would prefer things to be.

I have participated in some of these activities.  One of the things that I know more than anything else, not one of these things made my body happy.  When you are giving your body exactly what it needs, you can feel it on a cellular level.  Your whole being feels good and you have a glow about you.  Even if you don’t lose weight, people will swear that you did. 

I belong to a community that celebrates connection to Spirit through movement.  Every Thursday night an ever-changing collection of souls gathers to dance.  There is a beautiful soul that is in a wheelchair.  She glows with glorious light and she is a joy and a delight to know.  (www.rhythmsanctuary.com)

We had a particularly spectacular dance early last summer.  During the time when we share our experiences from the dance, she celebrated legs and wheels.  It was a truly enlightening experience for me.  It brought home what a gift our bodies are to us.  So, regardless of the things that we do to it, we must give thanks for having it. 

What can you do today to celebrate the gift of your body?

Joyfully yours,

Robyn

The Joy of Meditation – Creating a Space for Joy

I am about to begin teaching a guided meditation class called “Creating a Space for Living in Joy”.  When I decided to do this I needed to get a clearer understanding why it was important for me to do this now.  So, I thought about why meditation is so important.

I have always been told by spiritual guides of mine over the last 20 years that I need to meditate.  They said I needed to quiet my mind.  I never could.  Besides, always thinking and doing is what got me this far, slowing down to meditate seems almost counter-productive.  Then I met a friend of mine that gave me the name of my first teacher.

Then I finally understood why meditation is so important.  When we go inside we connect with ourselves through Spirit.  If you are a whirling dervish, constantly moving, doing, going, always in a meeting, on the phone, IMing, interacting with others; then going within is vital to reconnect to your center.

I teach guided meditation classes because I am not a master, I am a student.  I believe the best way to become a teacher is to teach what you know.  The more I learn, the more I can teach.  In the meantime, I can teach what I know to those that seek that knowledge.  I am a journeyman.  I can help others begin their path, as I journey on mine.

Sometimes I wonder if people don’t meditate because they are afraid to slow down and get still.  What will you find when you stop running?  Who are you if you’re not flying by the seat of your pants?  What does your still small voice have to say that you don’t want to hear?

 

It is time to love yourself and give yourself the gift of stillness.  If we are to connect to the joy within, we must first learn what’s in there.  Paraphrasing Glinda the Good Witch:   “The answer was with you all along.”

Click your heels 3 times and repeat after me ~ Free your mind, to do anything your heart desires.

Joyfully yours,

Robyn

The Joy of The Force ~ Yoda was right

Joy thought of the day:  It is through a complete connection to your Life Force that you will manifest Joy.

When I first thought of this, Star Wars immediately came to mind.  Then my beautiful sister and her family, they are a Star Wars family.  The thing that I love about Star Wars is that the message is that you have a force within you that, if it’s strong enough, allows you to do anything.  When the Force is strong with someone, they are able to conquer the Dark Side.  

It is known by many names, qi, prana, life force, it is the name for the light within you.  It is the place where you remain connected to Spirit.  When you are manifesting or living in flow, your life force/qi/prana is strong.  I have experienced this.  I can best describe it as humming.

I do a lot of work with the chakras (wheels of energy).  When I am in flow, I can feel each one turning and carrying my light up from my roots through my body connecting to Spirit.  I can also feel Spirit sending that energy to me down my chakras.  Your body feels like your lips feel when you hum.  That kind of vibrating tickle that happens when you hum. I imagine that it sounds like a light saber.

I feel this way during various activities.  I feel it when I meditate, I feel it when I participate in spiritual dance, I feel it when I’m sexually aroused.  It is a charge of energy that puts a smile on your face and the spring in your step.

Clearing our pathways, creating internal space, looking for OUR connection to Spirit, this is how we feel our Life Force.  This is how we manifest Joy.

What ways can you feel the Force within you?

Joyfully yours,

Robyn

A belated New Year greetings to you all!

I have finally come home to roost after taking a marvelous spiritual journey the second half of 2011.  I knew I would be on a journey.  But, I thought I was actually going to be moving.  However, as we know, the best journeys for your soul take place within.

In the time away, I learned great lessons about myself, about joy, about love, about friendship, about family, about life.  It’s been an incredible path to the end of 2011. 

Looking into 2012 I am here to declare it the Year of Joy!

I know that it is also the Year of the Water Dragon, but I am not very knowledgeable about Chinese Astrology.  So, I figure it’s better to choose something closer to home.

This year I will be taking us each day through the 5 Principles of Joy ~ Loving Ourselves, Connecting to the Earth, Releasing Our Fears, Accepting Our Gifts, Living in Joy.

Periodically I’ll be releasing sneak peeks of my book – The Joy of Being You.  I am so excited to take you on this next part of the journey.  If you learn as much about yourself as I am, we are going to have an incredible time.

Send up a whoop for 2012 The Year of Joy!

Joyfully yours,

Robyn